Our Initiatives

The initiatives undertaken through the people and resources of the Institute for Educational Initiatives spring from the Institute's mission statement:

The Institute strives to improve the education of all youth, particularly the disadvantaged. Its teaching, scholarship, and service reflect Notre Dame's commitment to advance K-12 schooling. Distinguished scholars and practitioners, including Institute Fellows across the University, pursue interdisciplinary collaborations to make a difference in crucial areas of education reform, with particular attention to Catholic schools. Resources for educational excellence include a wide array of distinctive graduate-level programs that form teachers and leaders.

Initiatives can be grouped under these three categories of goals:

Excellence in Leadership encompasses the work of preparing the next generation of educators and leaders for K-12 schools. The Institute performs this role at the undergraduate and graduate levels. We invest in professional formation.

Excellence in Research fosters investment in knowledge and ideas. Institute research, both basic and applied, generates new, interdisciplinary knowledge spanning the whole field of education and relevant to many current issues affecting children and schools.

Excellence in Innovative Practices springs from investment in professional services and outreach. This investment reflects the Institute's efforts to improve the education of all youth, especially the disadvantaged, and to embody Notre Dame's goal of making a distinctive difference in society.